Chasing the Bulls: Warriors tune out Jazz

March 09, 2016 11:38 PM

The Bee Sports staff tracks the Warriors’ progress toward breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record 72 wins, using a measuring stick from the past to gauge the present. Here’s where the teams stood 63 games into the season:

WARRIORS

March 9, 2016: Stephen Curry made a zippy crossover to shed his defender then banked in a 55-footer at the halftime buzzer, and the Golden State Warriors extended their record regular-season home winning streak to 46 by beating the Utah Jazz 115-94.

Klay Thompson scored 23 points while Curry wound up with 12 points and 10 assists on a quiet night in which he struggled to find his stroke early.

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Curry is 4 for 11 on shots from 40-plus feet (36.4 percent) this season and 13 of 27 (48.1) from 30 feet and beyond. He missed his first five shots and four threes but dished out six first-quarter assists.

Trey Burke led the Jazz with 18 points off the bench, while Rudy Gobert had 15 rebounds.

Player of the game: Draymond Green had 17 points (on 7-of-13 shooting, including 2 of 4 from three-point range), seven rebounds and five assists as Golden State (57-6) improved to 28-0 at Oracle Arena this season. Green also had three blocks and two steals.

Quote: “It’s like they’re a living organism as a group.” – Utah coach Quin Snyder on the Warriors

Warriors’ record: 57-6.

BULLS

March 15, 1996: Michael Jordan scored 33 points and Toni Kukoc, starting in place of the injured Scottie Pippen, had season highs with 24 points and 10 assists as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Denver Nuggets 108-87 and improved to 32-0 at home.

Earlier in the week, Denver’s Abdul-Rauf, who scored 19 points, said he would not stand for the national anthem because he viewed it is a form of nationalistic worship forbidden by his Islam religion. He also called the U.S. flag a symbol of “oppression and tyranny.”

The NBA suspended Abdul-Rauf for one game, but reinstated him after he agreed to stand – and pray – during the anthem.

Player of the game: In addition to his 33 points, Jordan had six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks while making 14 of 22 shots, including 3 of 5 from three-point range.